Chapter 9

Friday night found Stix and Don sat at the bar of a restaurant chatting and drinking beer while waiting for Robin, Leslie and the girls to show up. Stix turned to the bartender to order another when he noticed Keys on the television screen. He waved at the bartender.

"Can you turn that up?"

Don turned and looked where Stix was pointing.

"Musically the show Monday was horrible, Crystal," Keys said. "Oh, I'm sure the audience didn't notice, but it was a technical mess. And don't get me started on that blatant display at the end. I mean, come on, Axe and his daughter screwed that song up. It won't be played like that on the road."

"Easy, Don," Stix said, noticing his friend's fist clenching.

The interview went on for another fifteen minutes. Don was flabbergasted. Keys was rewriting history. Barrier Riff had been Keys' idea, apparently. Even most of the early hits were influenced by his musical knowledge, after all, Keys was the only member of the band to have finished college. And his degree was in music.

"I'll kill him," Don said softly as the news program turned to other things.

"Not if I get to him first," Stix replied.

Robin snaked her arms around Stix and kissed his neck. "Who are you two killing now?"

"Keys," Stix said, pulling Robin close and patting his son on the head.

"What now?"

Stix explained what he and Don had just heard. "That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard," Robin exclaimed.

Leslie and her charges arrived and the group sat down to a nice dinner. Don and Stix kept Keys and his interview out of the discussions.

"So when does the tour start, Don?" Leslie asked.

"We're opening up in Cleveland on October 12th."

"Twenty cities in thirty-five days," Stix added. "We'll be back here for Thanksgiving. Then we're hitting the west coast for two weeks. We're taking a month at Christmas and then doing the east coast in January."

"And then home again in time to welcome the next member of the Matthews brood," Don added.

Kasey put her hand on Don's arm. "Can we go on some of the tour, Dad?"

"We?"

"Jenny and me."

Don hesitated for a moment. Leslie jumped in. "School comes first, but if there are some shows during your breaks, I don't see why Jenny can't go along."

"Please, Dad," Kasey begged.

Don smiled. "We'll check the calendar and see what we can do. Otherwise, you're stuck here with Leslie and Robin. Okay?"

"I guess."

Don was the first to arrive at the band's rehearsal space. He opened the door and started warming up the equipment. He filled the refrigerator with some Bud Light as tradition dictated and then walked over to the white board. He began writing a tentative set list on the board. A two hour show meant that most of the new CD's songs would get played as well as all of their big hits and a few other songs from the earlier ones.

He blocked out three songs to be encores and began fitting things into a tentative order.

"No way will 'Lost Without You' be an encore number, Axe. We're not doing that on stage again. I want no chance of a repeat of that garbage from Monday," Keys said erasing the song from the board.

"Hello to you, too, Keys."

"'Lost Without You' stays," Bass said firmly as he nudged Keys aside and wrote it back on the board. "I don't know where you get off criticizing Monday's show. You did everything you could to sabotage it, both during and after."

"Kiss my ass, Bass," Keys replied drawing a line through 'Lost Without You' on the board. "I'm not giving Axe a chance to do that crap with his daughter on my tour."

"Your tour?" Stix was incredulous. "It's our tour, too. And I'm with Bass, 'Lost Without You' stays. With or without Kasey, it's still one of our best. The audience expects our best and we're going to give it to them."

Don stepped away from the board and watched as the three argued about the music. He thought he'd be the one who had to argue with Keys about everything, but Stix and Bass were stepping up and having their say for the first time in a long time, especially for Bass. Don wondered what had changed in Bass. Usually he was siding with Keys and the band was split on things until Don worked out a compromise.

Don turned and opened the fridge, gathering four bottles of beer in his hands. He turned in time to catch Keys next outburst. "'Lost Without You' goes or I go."

The room was silent for a moment and then Bass turned and looked at his friend. "Well, there's the door. Don't let it hit you on the ass as you leave."